


One Piece x Reader | Royals

by Bamse



Category: One Piece
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2019-10-09 15:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17409254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bamse/pseuds/Bamse
Summary: Ah, the annual reverie, and at last, you were old enough that you had to go, even if you couldn't do much in the conference. Unfortunately, due to past occurrences of assassinations, some precautions had to be met. But it didn't do much when a killer cares not for who they kill, but rather how many.Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, but the plot and world are mine.





	1. 1

“Princess [Y/N], Master [L/N] and Mistress [L/N] [Maiden/N] request your presence in the throne room,” spoke a maid.

You frowned. “Right. Thank you, Isabella.”

She curtsied before hurriedly leaving to finish another task. 

Sighing, you made your way downstairs towards the throne room. “Mother, father? Did you need something?” you asked formally.

“Ah, yes. My dear [Y/N],” your mother cooed. “Have you chosen your dresses and mask for the Reverie?”

“Of course, mother.”

“Great!”

Your father shot a quick glare to your mother, who quickly hushed. “[Y/N], remember not to take off your mask there. Too many heirs have been assassinated at these meetings. You’ll also be rooming with the other heirs of the other kingdoms. Play nice.”

“Of course, father.”

“Good girl. [Y/N], remember not to stray. There will of course be bodyguards, but for safety reasons, we cannot have them follow each individual---only the group,” he reminded. You stood uncomfortably, having already heard this dozens of times, but you know not to interrupt. “And no matter what, never take your mask off. Under no circumstances will you allow your face to be seen.”

You waited a moment. He didn’t speak. “I understand, father.”

“Good. You shall leave in two hours, for you shall take the long route. You will arrive around dawn. You are dismissed.”

You curtsied before striding out of the room. A sigh escaped your lips when you were a good twenty paces away. You let your shoulders droop a little and relaxed your stiff muscles. 

“I’m so not ready to play masquerade for a week.”

_______

It took several hours of restlessness and overwhelming anticipation, but at last, you made it to the kingdom where the conference was being held that year. You were accustomed to unreasonably over-the-top luxuries, and just the kingdom’s appearance stole your breath. 

Just within the walls were multi-story houses with soft colours and laundry hung over a string to dry. Simple lanterns were lit along the walls.

As you got further in, you seemed to be getting into a market-like section. Many people wearing nice attire and masks were already there, setting up booths filled with all kinds of goods. Fairy lights were strung from the tops of the booths, the soft glow giving everything a warm hue.

“Careful, Princess. Do not allow yourself to be seen so easily through the window,” warned Smoker. “The official guards cannot protect you until you arrive at the castle,” he said halfheartedly. 

You knew he couldn’t see, but you gazed at him softly for a few seconds before placing your hand on his knee. “It’s alright. You’d do a perfect job anyway, your magic is super strong. The only reason you’re not guarding us through the week is because they wanted guards from their own kingdom. It’s understandable,” you comforted.

Smoker didn’t have to see it---he could hear the smile in your voice, and he could picture it perfectly, too. He ran his gloved hand through his sage-tinted silver hair, focusing his eyes and mind elsewhere. “Thanks,” he said absentmindedly.

It was another half hour before the motor-carriage stopped. “[Alias],” called the driver. “You’ve arrived at your destination.”

“Right.” You glanced at Smoker. “Hey, I’ll see you in a week. Don’t miss me too much,” you teased, offering a casual farewell.

“I’ll try. Have fun,” he waved.

You waved back before snatching the suitcase and hopping out. Adjusting your mask, you half curtsied to the driver before an escort guided you towards the entrance to the castle. He bowed to you before leaving, and a man with tall, imposing stature approached. 

His eyes glared down at you, and you helplessly looked back up at them. You were grateful for the mask that hid your fear well. “Judge Vinsmoke, the ruler of this kingdom,” he introduced, stretching his arm down. 

You had to reach upwards a bit, but you took his hand. “My name is [Alias], a pleasure to meet you,” you said, trying to drone out the uncertainty in your voice, which sounded a lot more firm than you expected it to.

A smirk lined his lips. “You’re confident,” he commented. “Come in, [Alias]. I shall show you to the floor where you’ll be staying.”

You barely kept up with him, but you managed. 

“Here,” he said. “This floor is where the heirs will be staying. This is the common room, where you’ll remain until the rest get here.”

You nodded, understanding, looking at those already present in the room. “How many still have to come?”

He took a quick head count. “Six. For a total of twenty. I’ll be leaving now, if you need anything, use the blue intercom to contact a servant.”

“Right. Thank you, King Vinsmoke,” you curtsied. 

He hummed before leaving the room, leaving you alone. _20 minus 6, so fourteen here including me. I wonder if King Vinsmoke has any sons or daughters?_

Rolling your shoulders, you relaxed your body and took a seat. No one seemed particularly excited about being there, but you figured it was because no one knew each other. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing---tinkering with metal pieces and wires, reading, writing. 

You turned to someone next to you who didn’t seem preoccupied. “Hi! What’s your name?” you asked as cheerfully as you could.

He turned his head towards you. “It seems like a rather useless question,” he stated. “We both know it wouldn’t be mine anyway.” He wore a navy blue suit, clashing with his mask and yellow earrings. It was a classic masquerade mask, covering from his nose up, letting you see his goatee and sideburns. The mask was black with yellow splashed onto it.

“Er, right,” you remembered awkwardly. “Then, what do you like to do?”

A very audible sigh came from him.

“Don’t bother with raccoon boy, he’s too uptight to be a half decent person,” called a voice. He was the one tinkering with the metal and wires. He wore a maroon tuxedo that complemented his rose-red hair. His mask covered most of his face, stretching from the bottom of his ears and traced up to his nose, leaving his purple-stained lips exposed. The design had a white base with red dripping from the top, like blood.

“Oi, Eu-”

“Nah-ah-ah,” taunted the red boy. 

You were confused, and tilted your head a little to represent it. “Eu?”

“I said _you_ ,” corrected the first boy. “ _You_ idiot.”

 

The redhead let out a throaty laugh. “Idiot? Is that the best you can come up with, dipsh-”

“There’s no need to use such language in front of a lady,” chimed another. He was blond and seemed much more comfortable compared to the others. His mask covered most of his left face, then twisted up into more of a masquerade-type mask on the right. It was black with yellow swirls and dots painted neatly on it. His suit was simple and was matched with his yellow undershirt. 

Before anymore remarks could be made, Judge entered the room with another. It almost looked like a mini-him with his long, blond hair. He wore a black suit with white polka-dots peppering the lapel and pockets. The buttons were white, too. His white and blue striped mask covered his entire face, with two columns of holes down the middle.

Once Judge finished his mini orientation, the red one clicked his tongue. “Took you long enough. It’s been boring here.”

He shrugged and ran his hand through his mass amounts of hair. “Sounds like a you problem, less of a me problem,” he yawned. 

“I’ll make it a you problem,” red scoffed. 

“Hey, red,” you said. “Why do you always pick fights with everyone?”

Navy blue snickered. “What’d you call me?” red growled.

“Look, I don’t know what else to call you. Besides, I’m just saying I think it’d be best if we all got along, considering we’ll have to be around each other for a week.”

The new blond put a hand on your shoulder. “It’s alright, it’s always like this.”

“Do you know him?” you asked. 

“I don’t know for certain, but I believe most of us in this room right now are all from kingdoms very close to each other, so naturally we have had several instances where we’ve talked with one another,” the second blond explained.

“Oh.” Suddenly, you felt alone. 

Another cackled. “Don’t make the poor girl feel so left out!” Aside from his bright green hair slicked back to a point, he looked pretty normal: classic black suit and masquerade mask with green lining the rims. The heir slipped next to you and wrapped an arm around you. “You don’t feel too bad, now, do you?” he cooed.

You shifted awkwardly. Never had anyone done something like that to you, since 17 was still one year too young for suitors.

The first blond got defensive. “Get off her,” he growled.

Yet another blond, that one had wavy hair that reached his mid-back, sighed. His suit was plain, like the green flirt’s, but his mask seemed to wrap his face like roots. He was playing with cards, but he put them down and stood and strode in front of the couch. “It would be best if you stopped now,” he stated simply. 

“Oh? That so, card creep?”

The card boy held out his hand. You gratefully took it, wishing he could see the soft smile of gratitude. “Thank you.”

“I’d just rather prefer all our masks and tempers to stay in order. A 92% chance of chaos is not what I’d prefer, so I’ll keep it as calm as possible.” He led you to another side of the room, where he was sitting before. Cards sat you down next to him.

For the next few hours as more heirs arrived one by one, you observed everyone around you and attempted to remember what they looked like.

You nicknamed them all in your head, since no one seemed big on aliases.

“Now, go on and choose rooms. The layout is here.” He unfolded a map of the floor, showing where all the rooms are. “And I suggest you don’t do anything stupid, if you value the pride of your kingdom.”

He exited the room, and you approached the table where he laid the map out. You weren’t stupid, but maps definitely weren’t your specialty. 

“This is where we are,” said Blueberry, who had electrifying blue, curly hair and wore a sky blue, ruffly, layered dress with white trims. Her mask was the same blue with white, curly outlines and designs on it. 

She rested her finger in a room on the map. “This right here,” she traced her finger on the rim of the room, “Is that door,” she pointed to the left of you, opposite of the door you came in from. “And it leads into this hallway that breaks off into some of the rooms and bathrooms. Then there’s another common room type thing over here,” she continues to drag her finger along the paper, “For this branch of rooms. Same thing as out here: couches, television, kitchen, things like that, but smaller.”

You hadn’t looked much at the building itself, and you didn’t even notice the kitchen door labeled as such. 

“It looks like it’s the same each direction, so there are four branches, each with 5 rooms.”

At that point, most had gathered to listen to Blueberry’s brief explanation.

“Then, how should we assign rooms?” you questioned. “Drawing sticks?”

Blueberry thought for a second. “We could do something like that, but each size is a different branch, and from there we could sort rooms,” she suggested.

The group shrugged. “Sounds good to me,” spoke one.

From there, small murmurs and gestures of agreement washed through the crowd. 

“Where will we find sticks?” asked Orange, tossing a few of her apricot coloured locks out of her line of vision.

“We don’t need just sticks, right? We could use anything, but just alter it. So, we could probably use something like pens, then cover the cap colours. Anything would work,” pointed out Pipe, grabbing Monkey by the collar and stopping him from running around, while Fire had laughed at the scene. 

Ignoring the lively trio, you piped up, “How about we just use slips of paper and write numbers on them? So everyone with the same number goes to the same branch?” 

Once everyone had chosen a slip of paper, you grouped up with the right people then headed off into your branch. You were in the North branch, directly opposite from where you came in. You walked towards the common area of that branch with the other four heirs: Red, Navy Blue, Pipe, and Mossy. Since you already knew Red and Navy Blue didn’t get along well, you were a little nervous for what would happen. 

“So, who’s getting what rooms?” Mossy asked, scratching his light green, fluffy hair as he yawned.

“Doesn’t matter to me, as long as it’s away from that guy,” Navy Blue responded, pointing to Red.

Red clicked his tongue. “Same here, I don’t wanna be too close to a raccoon. Could get rabies.”

“Opposite sides for you two, then,” you murmured, accompanied by a sigh. “I don’t care either,” you said louder, so everyone could hear.

“Me neither. Let’s just claim rooms then?”

“Yeah, fine with me.”

You chose the room second closest to the common room across from Navy Blue. Red took the one on the other end, with Pipe in between you and him and Mossy next to Navy Blue. The rest of the day was spent in your rooms, watching tv or anything to pass time. 

And it was relatively peaceful, until blood curdling screams and gunshots rang out.


	2. 2

The screams and gunshots made the hair on the back of your neck stand up, shivers crawling up and down your spine. Your breath hitched, and your body acted on its own, standing up and nervously walking towards the door. You cracked it open, finding Mossy, Red, and Navy Blue standing in the hall, heading towards the common room. Pipe had just opened his door, too, and followed the three. You decided you’d go too, despite the dread that burrowed itself in your stomach.

You walked by Pipe, who seemed rather anxious to see what had happened. He was probably worried. Since he, Fire, and Monkey hung out with each other, you figured they were close.

The five of you stepped into the main area, finding everyone else there, as well as guards rushing around, searching desperately for All 20 of you were in the main area, 19 perfectly fine, 1 fallen in a pool of blood, pieces of her mask shattered around her. Blue Flames, a tall man with blond hair and a mask with bright blue fire on it, was crouched beside her body, checking for pulse beneath light blue locks of hair. A few moments later, he stood.

“She’s dead,” he said solemnly. 

Blueberry’s eyes were chocolate brown and empty, staring off into nothingness. You cringed at the sight.

You drew your eyes away from the scene and tapped one of the guards on the soldier. “Are there any leads?”

“No, I’m sorry, m’lady. We’re working on it, but there are no clues as to who could’ve done this. Please be patient, and for now, just in case one of the heirs is the culprit, we humbly request you all to stay here,” he said, bowing.

“Seriously?” Orange said. “You’re asking us that, in case one of us killed Vivi, we stay here. Really. And if they are? Who’s next, then?”

 

Raven sighed, pulling Orange toward her. “We can’t really go against it,” she said. “Try opening that door.”

Orange huffed and went to the door where everyone entered. She twisted the knob a few inches before it stopped. She pulled and pushed on the door violently, tried ramming into the thing. “You’re kidding.”

“Unfortunately, this is very serious,” Raven replied, adjusting her deep purple mask, which was adorned with a silhouette of a flock of birds, thick towards the corner, then just a few towards the middle. “The windows, too.”

“Well,” the guard said. “These are all precautionary measures, including that from now on, there will be at least two guards with each of you at all times.”

“This is all bullshit,” Red said, clicking his tongue. “Honestly, ‘precautionary measures’ my ass. I have to wear this dumbass mask, keep my identity a secret, and now we can’t go out _and_ I have to have some shitty guards around.” 

He brought his hand over his face before throwing off his mask, letting it fall to the floor with a small clang, along with some cracks forming in it. “My name is Eustass Kid! Kill me if you want!” he shouted.

“Calm down, Kid,” Blondie said. 

Navy Blue shrugged, sighing. “Honestly, as much as I hate to admit it, I agree with you about everything. But getting worked up about this all won’t help. Let’s retrace steps. Who was the first one here?”

You looked around, and no one spoke up.

“Well, you seemed like you were there a while before we came in,” you said, pointing at Blue Flames. “Not that I’m accusing you!” you added quickly. “But was there anyone else around? Were you the first one?”

“We all came out together,” Cards said. “A little before all this happened. I predicted something bad would happen, so we figured to warn the rest of you guys.”

“That’s why you were in our common room,” Fire said. 

“Yes. Anyway, that’s when we heard the gunshots. Immediately, we turned to exit, when the rest of those in that branch came out of their rooms. We all came out together.”

“I’m trained in the medical field, so I went to inspect her,” Blue Flames added. “But, as much blood as there is, there’s no wound I could find, no bullets, no gun.”

“Then the East Branch came out, then us,” Navy Blue finished simply. “Then, East Branch, where were you all? She was in your area, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Lime said, shrugging. “And?”

Magenta, far taller and more intimidating than anyone else in the room, sighed. “We were all holed up in our rooms. We didn’t even notice she wasn’t in her room,” he said. 

“Yeah, but you were the first one in the common room,” Sparks said, who was always accompanying Lime, Bubblegum, and Lightning. Together, they did seem a little odd, having red, green, pink, and blue hair respectively. 

“And?”

“Okay,” you chimed. “Let’s not accuse each other just yet, we don’t even know if it was one of us,” you pointed out. “Therefore, it could’ve been a number of things. First, it could’ve been an intruder, that makes sense. If she’d decided to relax in this area, let’s say the intruder was waiting. Gunshots, dead, and an escape. Straight out the door, and locked.”

“And the guards?” Lightning sneered.

“Well, I don’t know about all of the locks or anything, or how that would’ve worked or who locked it. But hear me out, we can sort details later, and again this is all hypothetical. Anyway, all of these guards, none of them were here before.”

Raven seemed interested at that. “How do you know?” she asked.

“I just… I do. They’re guards, but they’re still people. Like, I’m sure we’d notice if one of us were replaced, even if the person was dressed the same. Isn’t that right?”

A guard shifted awkwardly before nodding. “Technically, you’re not supposed to know that… but yes.”

“See? And if she actually didn’t have any wounds he could find, then maybe the gunshots weren’t for her,” you said. “Meaning she died some other way. Perhaps ate poisoned food, or something of the sort?”

“As great as that is,” Navy Blue said, “That is all just a hypothetical. As possible as that is, it’s also possible one of us did it. Think about it.”

“I… I know, I’m just trying to keep our minds open. So that turning on each other isn’t the immediate option. If we were to, I mean, we shouldn’t, but all that does is narrow it down, right?”

“I’d rethink that,” a voice called. Pipe had taken off his mask, revealing a burned face with bright, shining blue eyes. “I’m looking around a little more, and check this out.”

He bent down and lifted part of the floor, where he pressed some button, before standing and pushing on part of a wall near the kitchen. It opened up, revealing a dimly lit hallway, and he backed up. “I don’t know where this leads,” he said. “But if it’s what I think it is, I don’t think we’ve narrowed down anything.”

“And what do you think it is?” Monkey asked, following Pipe’s lead and ridding of his mask as he peered into the hall.

“Worst case scenario, a secret passage that leads to the rooms of this place.”

You swallowed. “No one’s safe,” you whispered, terrified.

Navy Blue rested a hand on your shoulder for a moment. “Don’t get all worked up about it all. Even if it is that, that doesn’t mean we’re not safe.”

“Yeah, we’re supposed to have guards or something, huh?” Mossy said, tossing his mask as well. “Well, if what, how many were here? If a lot of guards isn’t protecting her, how’s two supposed to protect us?”

“Well,” a new, deep voice interrupted. “There are more… capable guards,” he said, walking towards the group. He wore a white suit, matched with a white top hat. His black, curly hair reached just past his shoulders, along with a pigeon that sat on his shoulder. 

He took a knee in front of you, bowed his head, and put a hand over his chest. “Rob Lucci, at your service.”

“Er, thank you. You may stand,” you said awkwardly.

He stood and found a place just behind you, along with another to your left. 

He introduced himself as: “Smoker, at your service,” with a quick and simple bow.

“Thank you,” you said again, looking around at the other guards. You caught a few names here and there. “Er, do we still need these?” you asked, tapping your mask.

“It may prove to be useful. Just in case, it may be best to continue wearing it,” Lucci said.

“Right…”

“If you all will,” another guard said, “Please return to your branches, aside from the East. If you would, split up between the other branches, please.”

Seeing nothing else to do, everyone did as they were told, splitting off into branches. Instead of heading to your room, you decided on staying in the common area. You turned on the television and gave half your attention to it, the other half wandering, looking for signs of any hidden doors. You were vaguely aware of the guards behind you and Mossy sitting next to you.

“Worried?” he said, grabbing most of your attention to him, though he wasn’t looking at you. One of his eyes was scarred shut, and the other was focused on the screen.

“I guess? I guess I’m still in shock.”

He hummed. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“You think after the week, we’ll be able to go home? Or if anyone else even knows about this?”

“Not sure. Honestly, I’m just interested in seeing where this all goes.” You blinked a few times. “I mean, of course I’m thinking about all those things. But I don’t know, it’s a nice change from boring castle life,” he said, shrugging. 

“I guess. Not the best change, though…”

“Any change is good. By the way, I’m Zoro,” he said, offering a lazy hand.

“Er, nice to meet you…”

You shook his hand awkwardly. “Just to put a name to a face. You don’t gotta tell me yours, but I personally don’t care if you know my name.”

“Right… Hey, Zoro?” He hummed. “What do you think about that whole door thing?”

“I think I’d rather not talk about that with an audience,” he said simply. “Though, can’t really shake them off.”

“I guess. I’m kinda anxious about it, but it’s kinda thrilling, ya know? I wish no one had to die, of course,” you said, shivering as you thought back to the still body, matched with cold eyes.

“Yeah.”

A few hours had passed of mostly silence, aside from the TV, filled with thoughts and ideas. And as if you and Zoro were on the same wavelength, the two of you glanced at each other.

You gulped. “I have a bad feeling,” you whispered.

He nodded. “I can feel it too. I wonder who…”

“Princess?”

You glanced back at Lucci.

“If you’d like, we will accompany you out. As the highest ranked member of the guards on this floor, I’ve the authority,” he said, bowing his head.

You glanced at Zoro, who nodded. “That’d be nice, thank you.”

_______

I’m gonna end it there. Alright, so I still have like 0 plan for the story overall… But I have a few ideas? I guess this’ll be the first book since One Week that I genuinely have no clue where it’s gonna spiral to. Welp, we’ll see.


End file.
